Gas deal to seal state fuel fate

Patna, Feb. 7: The state government would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gas Authority of India Limited (Gail) in March to use natural gas from the proposed Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline.

Principal secretary of the industries department Naveen Verma said decks have been cleared and most of the technicalities regarding the project have been taken care of.

“The representatives of the project are in touch with the state government. The project has been pending for long. The government would sign an MoU next month. We are working on the technicalities of the project,” Verma said.

Once the project is completed, it would be able to supply natural gas to households for cooking purposes, reducing the dependence on LPG cylinders. Moreover, the pipeline would also pave the way for re-opening of the closed Barauni fertiliser factory.

Of the total 800-km pipeline, 205km would pass through Bihar.

Gail, which has been assigned the pipeline work, would set up branch pipelines in Bihar to supply natural gas to different parts of the state. One branch would originate from Gaya and pass through Biharsharif (Nalanda) to reach Begusarai. The second branch would originate from Biharsharif and pass through Patna, Saran, Siwan, Gopalganj and West Champaran districts.

The main supply line (Jagdishpur-Haldia) would pass through Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Gaya districts. Natural gas will be supplied through a dedicated pipeline between Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) to Haldia. The pipeline would also get supply from Bengal.

The project was sanctioned five years ago but could not take off because of technical glitches.